Apparatus and method for cooking casingless shaped food products

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for cooking a casingless food product such as a casingless sausage or the like is provided. The apparatus includes a tray to support a plurality of casingless sausages and the like which nest within laterally extending recessed areas and the tray is provided with a plurality of pores or slots extending therethrough. The tray is positioned within an oven housing and separates the interior thereof into a first space above the tray and a second space below the tray. The air within the housing is heated and the second space is pressurized to a positive pressure over that within the first space to provide for the forced escape of heated air from the second space into the first space through the pores in the tray to thereby lift the casingless food product above the surface of the tray and to cook the food product while suspended above the tray. The pores or slots within the tray are oriented to direct the flow of air to both lift the food product above the surface of the tray while simultaneously rotating it over the surface to provide uniform and even cooking of the food product.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus for cooking a casingless food product, comprising: a housing;   a tray positionable within said housing for supporting at least one casingless food product thereon, said tray separating the interior of said housing into a first space above said tray and a second space below said tray;   said tray having a plurality of grooves shaped to nest at least one casingless food product therein;   a plurality of openings extending through said tray and within said grooves for the passage of air between said second space and said first space, said casingless food product positionable within said grooves and over said openings;   said openings provided within said grooves in an ordered arrangement having a first row, a second row and a third row, said first row and said second row of said openings extending through said tray in a substantially vertical orientation, said third row of said openings extending through said tray at an acute angle with respect to said first row and said second row;   heating means for heating the air within at least said second space; and   pressure means for pressurizing the air within said second space to a pressure greater than the pressure within said first space;   whereby the heated and pressurized air in said second space passes through said openings to simultaneous lift said food product above said support means and to cook said food product.   
     
     
       2. The apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein said heating means includes a heater and a blower assembly positioned to provide heated air to said first space and said second space within said housing. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus as described in claim 2, wherein said heater and said blower are positioned outside of said housing and are connected thereto through heating ducts, said ducts being configured to split said heated air into a first stream and a second stream, said first stream entering said first space and said second stream entering said second space within said housing. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus as described in claim 3, wherein said pressure means is positioned outside of said housing and connected to said second space through said heating ducts, said second stream being directed through said pressure means to pressurize the air within aid second space. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus as described in claim 1 further comprising recirculation means for recalculating the air within said apparatus, said recirculation means including at least one recloseable vent for venting said apparatus to the ambient. 
     
     
       6. An apparatus for cooking a casingless food product, comprising: a tray for supporting at least one casingless food product thereon said tray having a plurality of grooves to nest at least one casingless food product therein;   a plurality of openings extending through said tray to allow gas to pass therethrough, said at least one casingless food product being positioned over said openings when nesting within said grooves;   said openings provided within said grooves in an ordered arrangement having a first row, a second row and a third row, said first row and said second row of said openings extending through said tray in a substantially vertical orientation, said third row of said openings extending through said tray at an acute angle with respect to said first row and said second row;   gas directing means positioned below said tray for delivering pressurized gas through said openings to said at least one casingless food product, said pressurized gas passing through said openings at a velocity which is sufficient to lift and hold said at least one casingless food product above said tray; and   heating means for cooking said at least one casingless food product while said product is held above said tray.   
     
     
       7. The apparatus as defined in claim 6 further comprising gas collecting means positioned above said tray for collecting gas which has passed through said openings in said tray. 
     
     
       8. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 further comprising recirculation means associated with said gas collecting means for recalculating the gas collected by said gas collecting means. 
     
     
       9. The apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said heating means includes a heater and a blower assembly positioned to deliver heated air above and below said tray.